As the Diocese of Trenton, the Dioceses of New Jersey and the Church around the world work to address the crisis involving the sexual abuse of minors by members of the clergy, The Monitor will keep readers updated by posting news and information in this space.

PHILADELPHIA – The clergy sex abuse crisis that engulfed the U.S. Church – and has since spread globally – requires understanding it as context for what is happening in the Church and society, according to journalist Peter Steinfels.More ...Friday, May 17, 2019

WARSAW, Poland • A cardinal incarcerated for 18 years after refusing to abandon his Church and a bishop thrown in an unmarked grave after starving to death in an “extermination prison” are among seven communist-era martyrs who will be beatified by Pope Francis during his upcoming visit to Romania.More ...Thursday, May 16, 2019

ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT FROM NORTH MACEDONIA – Pope Francis told reporters May 7 he had been kept informed about Jean Vanier's failing health and had phoned him a week before his death.More ...Thursday, May 16, 2019

When Pope Francis visits Romania May 31-June 1, he will helicopter to Sumuleu Ciuc, site of the country's only major Marian shrine and an important place of pilgrimage for Hungarian Catholics.More ...Thursday, May 16, 2019

VATICAN CITY – Parishes and dioceses are now allowed to organize official pilgrimages to Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina, but it must be clear that the Catholic Church has not recognized as authentic the alleged Marian apparitions there.More ...Wednesday, May 15, 2019

VATICAN CITY – Pope Francis has revised and clarified norms and procedures for holding bishops and religious superiors accountable in protecting minors as well as in protecting members of religious orders and seminarians from abuse.More ...Thursday, May 9, 2019

RAKOVSKI, Bulgaria – In the Catholic heart of Bulgaria, Pope Francis celebrated a special Mass for 245 children receiving their first Communion and thanked them for helping him, their parents and grandparents remember their own first Communion.More ...Monday, May 6, 2019

SOFIA, Bulgaria – On the day Bulgarian Orthodox celebrate as "St. Thomas Sunday" and read the Gospel about the apostle asking to touch the wounds of the risen Lord, Pope Francis said the divisions within Christianity are "painful lacerations on the Body of Christ, which is the Church."More ...Sunday, May 5, 2019

SOFIA, Bulgaria – In a country that has seen many of its citizens emigrate in search of work and a better life, Pope Francis asked Bulgarians to be welcoming of and sympathetic to the migrants and refugees who arrive in their country hoping to get to Western Europe.More ...Sunday, May 5, 2019

VATICAN CITY • Polish Cardinal Stanislaw Dziwisz, the former archbishop of Krakow and longtime secretary to St. John Paul II, celebrated his 80th birthday April 27, ending his eligibility to vote in a conclave.

With his birthday, the College of Cardinals returns to having 120 cardinal electors, the maximum limit established by St. Paul VI, but frequently set aside for months at a time over the past three decades.

The Catholic Church currently has 222 cardinals, who come from 88 nations.

The 120 cardinals under 80 years of age and, therefore, eligible to enter a conclave, come from 65 countries, a result of Pope Francis’ practice of naming several cardinals from countries that have never had one before.

WASHINGTON – More than 90% of Catholics said they believe that Catholic organizations should invest Church funds in ways that are consistent with Church teaching and values, according to results of a new survey.More ...Thursday, May 2, 2019

VATICAN CITY – Retired Pope Benedict XVI, acknowledging his role in helping the Catholic Church come to terms with the clerical sexual abuse crisis beginning in the 1980s, wrote an article outlining his thoughts about what must be done now.More ...Friday, April 12, 2019

VATICAN CITY – Within the universal Christian vocation of serving God and serving others, God handcrafts a specific calling for each person, a vocation that fits his or her personality and abilities, Pope Francis said.More ...Thursday, April 4, 2019

WASHINGTON – Pope Francis' apostolic exhortation "Christus Vivit" ("Christ Lives") is a "wonderful summons to the Church to more vigorously invest in youth and young adults, especially those on the peripheries and those disconnected from the Church," said a trio of leaders within the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.More ...Wednesday, April 3, 2019

VATICAN CITY – While digital communications and social media can be used as a tool of evangelization and a place of dialogue with others, they also can be lonely environments where young people fall prey to humanity's worst vices, Pope Francis wrote.

In his new apostolic exhortation to young people, "Christus Vivit" ("Christ Lives"), the Pope warned that as the digital environment continues to become the norm, it has had a "profound impact" on young people's ability to communicate and develop relations with others.

RABAT, Morocco – Celebrating Mass with members of Morocco's tiny Catholic community, Pope Francis praised them for the many ways they "bear witness to the Gospel of mercy in this land."More ...Monday, April 1, 2019